


Something Wonderful

by Little_Plebe



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Darcy knows how to connect with people, F/M, First Meetings, Man Out of Time, POV Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve thinks his life sucks, Tony Being Tony, also mentions of past trauma, but then something wonderful happens, he meets his future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25570384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Plebe/pseuds/Little_Plebe
Summary: “Holy shit!” His exclamation was buried under the screech of tires as the truck skidded to a dangerous halt in the middle of the road, just a few inches shy of the car before him.The reason for the accident, it turned out, was a naked woman who was presently eyeing the crash with caution. She wasn’t entirely naked, but even in this century, Steve knew that people walking around in their unmentionables was not a common occurrence. He stared in open-mouthed shock as she casually walked past the two ill-fated vehicles and approached Steve’s truck.“Um,” he said when the passenger door opened and she slid in beside him without any explanation.“Let’s go.”
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers
Comments: 136
Kudos: 319





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr. Written for [VelvetSky's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetSky) Marvel Summer Fun n' Fluff Fest.
> 
> I know it says _fluff_ but Steve's fresh out of ice in the flashback. He's sad, but I promise he gets better. You'll see.

Steve Rogers wasn’t much of a party person. Large groups of people made him uncomfortable. Getting drunk and ignoring everyone around him had proved impossible. Dancing was out of question because he didn’t know how. Hoping at least one of his friends would stick by him through the whole ordeal was wishful thinking. All he could really do was stand in a corner, perfectly still, and wait for the ideal opportunity to make his escape.

This party was no different. Tired of signing autographs and being hit on repeatedly by women who didn’t seem to respect themselves, Steve had resigned himself to stand in the shadows with a glass of champagne while he waited for Thor. The demigod was really the only person among the Avengers (and outside of them) that Steve could relate to. He was big and strong, just like Steve, unaware of modern culture, valued good manners, and he was just… nice. Steve had never heard a word of judgment slip out of Thor’s mouth. If he didn’t make frequent, long trips to Asgard, Steve would hang out with him all the time.

“At ease, soldier.” A hand clapped him on the back, making Steve choke on his champagne. “Easy there, Cap!”

Steve turned to throw Tony a sour look. “I’d prefer you wouldn’t call me out like that. I’m trying not to draw attention to myself.”

“Why not? This is a party! You’re not allowed to lurk in a dark corner like some sad wallflower.”

Steve rolled his eyes and refused to comment.

“Talk to people. Make friends. Hook up with girls. There are quite a few hot models in this room willing to do _anything_ for America, if you know what I mean.” Tony’s suggestive grin faded into a sigh when the blond vehemently shook his head in an _are you flipping serious?_ sort of way. “You and your morals. Come on, I’ll take you to—”

At that moment, there was a loud cheer and people started milling to the door. Tony stopped mid-sentence and both men turned to look at the commotion. There was only one person, apart from Tony Stark, who could garner so much attention.

Thor had arrived.

He received warm welcome from everyone as he walked in, smiling and waving, making people swoon.

“Show off,” Tony muttered good-naturedly under his breath, and Steve, grinning, nodded in agreement. When the crowd parted and they saw that the demigod wasn’t alone, Tony let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh, he brought his elusive girlfriend with him—look! I’ve been pestering him to bring her about for weeks!”

But Steve, who had caught sight of her too, felt his eyes widen for an entirely different reason. His jaw dropped as he stared at the woman hanging on Thor’s arm, laughing out loud at all the attention.

It couldn’t be...

Could it?

It couldn’t be _her_!

She hadn’t changed one bit in the year and a half since he’d seen her. Same shiny brown hair, big guileless eyes, and an open smile. She was wearing a few more clothes than the last time he’d seen her, but it was definitely her. Steve could recognize her anywhere. Theirs hadn’t been a typical first meeting.

“That’s Jane Foster,” he said, pointing dumbly in her direction.

Tony nodded. “Smartest person in the room. She looks taller in her photographs. And not as cute.”

Cute? She was gorgeous! Absolutely stunning! But that wasn’t why Steve couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. He was having a hard time believing she was at the party, that he was seeing her again… after all this time. He’d thought it was goodbye when she’d placed a hand on his shoulder, stood up on her toes and…

His heart sank when she said something to Thor and he threw his head back and laughed. “She’s Thor’s girlfriend?”

“Yeah, let’s go say hi.” Tony started forward, then stopped when he belatedly registered the dismay in his friend’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

Steve gulped and raised helpless eyes to the billionaire. “She… Jane and I, we’ve met. After I came out of the ice… I was driving and she… wasn’t wearing anything…”

“Woah, what!” Tony interrupted, eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets. “Please. Please don’t tell me you did the do with Thor’s girlfriend!”

“Did the wha—no! Christ, Tony!” Steve glared at him.

“Okay, okay.” Tony held up his hands. “Just tell me what happened,” he said. “Start from the beginning. And then we can decide if you knowing Jane Foster is a good thing or not.”

Steve nodded. His eyes flickered to Jane again and he began his story…


	2. Meeting Jane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I mentioned in the last chapter, this was first posted on [my tumblr](https://littleplebe.tumblr.com/). So, if the story seems familiar, it's because you must have come across it there.

_About a year and a half ago…_

It was a month after Steve had been discharged from the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, deemed fit to start living by himself in this new world. A small living space had been assigned to him in Brooklyn along with a free gym membership that he abused without shame, also something called a Computer that stayed boxed in a forgotten corner of his room along with a few other modern techs that Steve was afraid to use. One of the nicer and chattier agents at S.H.I.E.L.D. had hinted that all modern technology could be hacked. Steve took it to mean everything could be traced to its owner. He didn’t know what that could mean for him but he wasn’t about to take risks considering he didn’t trust anyone and anything in this century yet.

He often felt paranoid. Being a man out of time wasn’t an easy situation to handle. He had difficulty coping as a result of practically everything being different. People were loud and always in a hurry, fashion was downright outrageous, everything was expensive—at the rate he was spending money these days, he would go bald within a year—and he didn’t think he would ever get used to some of the words he had heard on the streets. Amazeballs, awesome, chill out and… badonkadonk? They stumped him. He had been called a _dude_ a dozen times and, while he wasn’t unfamiliar with the word, it was hardly the right term to describe someone like him.

The amount of history and culture to catch up on was overwhelming and it made his mind spin. Frequent nightmares, dark thoughts, and his overall frustration at waking up to a world that had moved on without him eventually led him to consider a change of scenery. Maybe getting away from the hubbub of New York would help him calm down and feel somewhat better about his unfortunate situation.

He packed some clothes and snacks in a bag and rented a pickup truck. The plan was to travel south, spend the night in whichever place he’d reached by then, and there decide if he wanted to keep going or return home.

Couple of hours in, the journey was quiet and smooth, and without anything to distract him except the dull drone on the radio, Steve fell back into the addictive world of what-ifs. What if he had given Peggy his coordinates before he went down? What if Howard had found him with the coordinates and he was alive in his own time like he was supposed to be? What if he killed himself now? Would that make a difference to anyone at all?

Hours later and still completely owned by the morbidity of his thoughts, he was passing through a small town just outside of Virginia when the car cruising ahead of him slowed abruptly and ran into an oncoming vehicle. Steve slammed his foot on the brakes to avoid another collision.

“Holy shit!” His exclamation was buried under the screech of tires as the truck skidded to a dangerous halt in the middle of the road, just a few inches shy of the car before him.

The reason for the accident, it turned out, was a naked woman who was presently eyeing the crash with caution. She wasn’t entirely naked, but even in this century, Steve knew that people walking around in their unmentionables was not a common occurrence. He stared in open-mouthed shock as she casually walked past the two ill-fated vehicles and approached Steve’s truck.

“Um,” he said when the passenger door opened and she slid in beside him without any explanation.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?” he asked her dumbly, eyes flickering to the road ahead to see the owners of the crashed vehicles engaged in a verbal fight. “I… need to help them.”

The woman shot him a look. “They can take care of themselves. I’m naked. Get me out of here!”

Steve turned to her, careful not to let his gaze wander. She was wearing black lace. It was fogging his judgment. “Um…”

The question of her identity or if she was to be trusted didn’t even cross his mind, so caught up was he in figuring out what would be the right thing to do in that instant. Her words echoed unevenly in his mind, registering a bit later than they should have and Steve realized she had a point. He wordlessly put the truck in reverse and drove around the crash like a careless civilian. A worried glance at the rearview mirror showed that the two men were nearly at each other’s throats.

“Relax,” drawled his new companion. “They were both perverts, more interested in checking me out than actually stopping to help.” She ducked her head out of the open window and screamed, “Assholes!”

Steve blinked and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Why… why are you…?”

“Why am I half naked on the road?” She pulled her legs up into her body and wrapped her arms around her knees in a display of defiance and, perhaps, in an unsuccessful attempt to hide her assets from his gaze. “Well, if you must know,” she continued stiffly. “I quit my job and they asked for my uniform back. I was angry and feeling petty, so I took it off right there and threw it at their faces.”

_People really do that?_ Steve wondered. Apparently, they did.

“I mean, it wasn’t a job. It was an internship. I was supposed to work in HR or public relations but for whatever dumb reason, they placed me in security instead and gave me a stupid uniform to wear.” She paused and shook her head in defeat. “Now I’ll have to find somewhere else where I can earn my six college credits. God, this sucks!”

If she were fully clothed, Steve would think about offering some comfort in the form of a light pat on the knee. Since she wasn’t clothed, he settled for a small smile that came out more confused than sympathetic. 

“Where am I taking you?”

“Willowdale. Culver University.”

“Oh. That’s where I’m headed.” He had planned to stop in Richmond but Willowdale wasn’t far. He supposed he could spend the night there instead.

The woman gave him a skeptical look. “Yeah, right.”

He didn’t know what to say to that, so he awkwardly introduced himself. “I’m Steve.”

She fidgeted, looking uncomfortable. “I’m Jane… uh… Foster.” She glanced behind them at the empty backseat. “Do you have a jacket or a blanket or _something_ in this old metal contraption?”

Steve started. “Shoot, yeah! I have… uh…” He pulled up on the side of the road and gave her an apologetic look. “I have clothes. I’m sorry I didn’t think to offer sooner.”

“Yeah, that’s a shocker,” Jane deadpanned.

He tried not to get upset by her sarcasm and her skepticism to believe that he wasn’t one of those perverts out to get her. He would take her home safely and prove that he was a gentleman of the best kind, which he wasn’t—not completely—but she didn’t need to know that.

“I’ll get you a shirt,” he mumbled, hopping out and going to the back to retrieve one from his bag. She seemed to approve of it and snatched it from his grip to quickly put it on. It fell well past her thighs and Steve, who had been too busy _not_ staring at the pale expanse of her skin, noticed for the first time how tiny she was. The shoulder line of his shirt hung over her biceps and the sleeves were longer than her arms.

She burrowed herself into the fabric and whispered, “Thank you.”

Steve nodded silently and restarted the truck.

She seemed to open up after that. Not a lot, but she told him about nicking a taser from the security vault of the firm she had recently quit and about her friend who worked in the same firm, who normally drove her to and from that place. But since she had quit, her friend couldn’t come to her rescue and she had to stand half nude on the road, hoping some kind soul would offer her a lift.

Steve could sense some awkwardness seeping into her demeanor now that she had probably realized he was a nice fella and had no intention to do anything except help her. She pulled the collar close around her neck and said, “I’m not usually like this. I don’t rip off my clothes in public and walk around in my underwear.”

Steve kept his eyes on the road. “I’m sure you don’t.”

It was fairly late when they reached Culver. Steve realized they should have reached half an hour ago but he had been driving slower than he normally did. For… for Jane’s safety. The woman in question got out at the gates of Culver University and thanked him for bringing her home.

“Where are you staying at?” she inquired casually.

“I’m staying at…” He trailed away because he had no idea. He would have to ask around for a cheap inn. Or perhaps he could still make it to Richmond.

“Do you _have_ a place to crash at night?” Jane frowned when Steve nodded uncertainly. “Seriously, dude?”

“I’m sure I’ll find a place nearby.”

“This late?”

“Recommend me a hotel, maybe? Some place not that expensive?”

“Jesus Christ! Look, there’s no such thing as ‘not expensive’ in this place unless you’re a student, which you’re not.” She paused and ran a hand down her face. “God, I can’t believe I’m doing this… just leave the truck here and come with me. My roommate’s in Chicago for internship and her bed is free.”

Steve shook his head immediately. “That’s very kind of you, but I think I can manage by my own.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “Can you scale a wall?”

He blinked, confused at the turn in conversation. “I…”

She wasn’t interested in waiting for an answer and pointed ahead to her left. “Around the corner, second building, third floor. I’ll switch on the lights and stick my head out so you know which window.” Then she walked away, taking his shirt with her, her dark hair glistening in the moonlight.

“Shit!” cursed Steve, staring as she disappeared into the campus premises.

Did he have a choice?

He did. He could drive away and find a place to stay till morning and forget all about the woman he had met on the road. But he couldn’t leave her waiting at her window, could he? Plus, he needed his shirt back. He would go there, tell her he was going to be fine on his own—hell, he could even sleep in the truck if he didn’t find anything suitable—he would take his shirt and he would leave. And that would be it. Simple and easy.

He felt like a thief sneaking around in the shadows as he followed the directions she had given him. Like she had promised, the lights were switched on and she waved at him. “Come on up.” Then she disappeared.

“No, I can’t…,” hissed Steve. “Ma’am, wait! Jane!”

He turned and peered to his left and then to his right. Oh boy, this wasn’t good. He was going into a woman’s room. A student’s room. It was forbidden. Wasn’t it? He cursed again, then stepped forward to grab the pipe going up the building. It took him two quick leaps to reach her open window.

“Woah, you’re fast,” she remarked, looking up from the refrigerator. His shirt was still wrapped around her and she had thankfully put on a pair of jeans. “That’s Lily’s side of the room. You can make yourself comfortable.”

“Wait, listen—”

“Bathroom’s over there. I hope you brought your own toothbrush.”

“Ma’am…”

“Are you hungry? I have a club sandwich in the fridge.”

“That’s not what I…”

“And beer.”

Steve sighed in resignation and stepped fully into the small room. “Yes, thank you.” He was a little hungry. He would eat and then leave. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoy my writing, let me know.


	3. Sleepless in Culver

Steve didn’t know why he had thought spending the night in a stranger’s room would be a good idea. It was one thing he couldn’t normally sleep, another that there was somebody there to witness his nightly struggles. To be fair to Jane, she was polite enough to not comment on his fitful tossing and turning, but every now and then he could feel her gaze on him, unabashed and intrusive. He met her eyes once and she stared right back, part of her face illuminated by the faint glow from her laptop. Later, he would notice that she had placed a pitcher of water on his bedside and a spare blanket at his feet.

Sleep, as it so often did, catapulted him back to the past. He dreamed of the cold again. Of drowning and thrashing, struggling to breathe as the water closed around him and turned to ice. The chill seeped into his very core and the moment he accepted this was the end and succumbed to his fate, Steve awoke with a gasp, sputtering and retching madly as he sat up and clawed at his chest, feeling like he was dying all over again. A coughing fit followed, during which he realized he was on a bed, not in the water, and the blanket wrapped around him wasn’t protecting him from the cold, rather suffocating him. He threw it off of him in his panic.

To his dismay, Jane had been awakened by his involuntary outburst. She was sitting up on her bed, squinting at him through bleary eyes, concern etched clear on her face.

“Sorry,” rasped Steve, turning away and running a hand down his face in frustration. It was still dark outside. How little had he slept this time?

Jane didn’t say anything, simply pointed to the pitcher of water on their shared bedside table. Steve reached for it and took a large gulp directly from the pitcher. The cool water felt wonderful on his dry tongue and the irksome tickling in his throat ceased. He breathed a sigh of relief and shot Jane a grateful look.

“Thanks.” Guilt clawed at his insides. She didn’t know him; she shouldn’t have to put up with his issues. “Please go back to sleep.”

She pursed her lips and studied him. “You have nightmares often?”

Steve hung his head and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. “Only when I sleep.”

Waking up in this century had resulted in weeks of sleepless nights. He had burned through most of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s medication with no positive effect on his routine. The doctors, at one point, had gone so far as to consider putting him in an induced coma if that was the only way he could get some shut eye. While his insomnia had gotten better overtime, Steve still had phases wherein he wouldn’t be able to rest for days on end, and on the times he did, his sleep would be plagued by horrifying nightmares of war and death.

It wasn’t a pretty picture, the one inside his head, and now a virtual stranger had caught a glimpse of it and Steve didn’t know whether to feel bad about it or accept it; for if it happened once, it could happen again.

Turned out, he didn’t have to make that choice. Jane made it for him. She hopped off her bed and padded over to his. Steve looked up at her approach and—oh, that was still his shirt she was wearing!

“Do you mind? It’s comfortable,” she said as a way of explanation, fisting handfuls of the shirt’s fabric in both her hands and scrunching it up as if hugging the shirt to her body. The mattress dipped as she climbed in across from him and gave him a smile, the first she had granted him since they met. Steve blinked in the face of it, utterly bewildered at the way the curve of her lips eased the ache in his heart, if only by a little. “Let’s play a game.”

That was the last thing he had expected her to say. Scooting a few inches away from her to maintain some sense of propriety, Steve simply asked, “What?”

“I feel like playing Royal Rescue. Ever heard of it?” She leaned over the side of the bed and pulled a dusty white cardboard box from beneath it. Inside the box was a piece of rolled up green fabric, dice, and plastic playing pieces shaped like humans. Jane emptied it all on the bed and continued, “We might as well pass the time doing something fun if we can’t sleep.”

Steve pursed his lips in disapproval. A quick glance out of the window confirmed the sun was far from rising, and unless he decided to leave abruptly—which, he surmised, would be considered rather rude—he was stuck here with Jane as his only hope for distraction. That, however, didn’t mean he was in any sort of mood to play games, and wondered how best to refuse the offer.

Silence stretched between them as he watched her unfurl the square piece of fabric, clearly a makeshift game board of sorts, and spread it on the bed between their bodies. “My brother used to do this,” she divulged, gesturing to the game between them. “Play board games with me when he couldn’t sleep. He was a soldier like you. He used to say, aside from sex, playing a game with someone is the most effective form of distraction there is.”

Steve stared at her, equal parts stunned and distressed by her words, while she continued setting the playing pieces in their proper positions. He couldn’t refuse her now, could he? This was as much an escape for her as it could be for him if he just tried. 

“Snakes and ladders was our favorite but I don’t have that here.” Jane looked at him hopefully, her face open and relaxed, as if she hadn’t just shared a tragic piece of personal information with him. As if they had simply been talking about the weather and not her dead brother whose memories probably haunted her to this day, just like memories of Bucky haunted Steve.

“Come on,” she coaxed, “you’ll have fun, I promise.”

Her warmth threw him off. The words “I’m sorry about your brother” were on the tip of his tongue, but all that came out in the face of her optimism was, “Okay.”


	4. Royal Rescue

“You just killed my soldier. You can’t kill my knight, too!”

Steve nudged Jane’s plastic knight to the side and deposited his own knight in its place. He then looked up to flash her an unrepentant smile, unable to hold back the hint of smugness that bled through at the glare on her face. She and her team of plastic soldiers had won the last two games, purely because Steve had still been learning and trying to remember all the rules, most of which she only deigned to share with him in the middle of an ongoing game when either of them made a move that hurt the other. Steve felt no remorse in killing her soldiers _or_ her knight.

“There’s no such rule in the rule book,” he reminded her, rolling the dice and miraculously scoring another kill.

“I created the rule book!” She watched in dismay as he reached for another one of her active soldiers, practically flicking it off the game board in a bout of unexpected playfulness. It landed in her lap and she huffed, tossing it to the side where her other fallen pieces lay. “Gimme that!”

She snatched the dice from his palm and Steve felt another smile threaten the stoic façade he was desperately trying to maintain for her sake. Her competitiveness was entertaining, and with every game, he found it harder and harder to conceal his amusement.

“I just killed your knight,” he remarked, analyzing the remaining pieces (nearly all his, except for the kidnapped princess trapped in the intricately embroidered fortress) on the game board. “Doesn’t that automatically mean I won?”

He received a disgruntled look in return. “I still have one man standing.” She pointed to her last remaining soldier waiting in the confines of her hand-stitched castle.

Steve’s castle was empty. He had sent everyone packing at the first opportunity he got, and when he realized what Jane was planning, he started to wonder if he had lost his strategic abilities in the ice.

“And he has the whole board to himself because your men can’t go back the way they came,” Jane continued gleefully, pausing to bounce the dice ominously on her palm. “He will attack from behind and stab all your men in the spine like they deserve.”

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t already witnessed Jane’s single-mindedness in the last hour of playing Royal Rescue, but coming from someone so petite and harmless like her, this level of ruthlessness was so comical that Steve couldn’t hold back the bubble of mirth that rose up his chest and burst out of him in a laugh. Loud and unguarded, it was a foreign sound even to his own ears. Jane seemed startled by it and looked up to regard him in awe.

“What?” she asked, her own lips curving into a bemused smile, powerless against the impulse to mirror the one on his face. “Was it something I said? I know I get carried away sometimes…”

Unable to form words, Steve shook his head as an emotion long forgotten settled somewhere in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t identify it, but it made him feel different. Lighter. It was as if with every second that passed, with every cry of victory and groan of defeat, with every look shared in the semi-darkness of Jane’s room, the heaviness in his heart had eased. And for a moment there—just one tiny unbelievable moment—his mind grappled with holding on to the memories of his past.

“Hey.” Jane’s hand landed on his knee, forcing him back to the present. “You okay?”

Steve blinked and swallowed hard. “Yes.” Realizing he was frowning, he immediately relaxed his face. “Sorry. Did I zone out?”

“No. You just looked really intense for a minute there.”

Steve nodded absently and Jane went back to concentrating on the game. He was grateful for the consideration she was showing him, asking no questions, expecting no answers. He could see the curiosity in her eyes whenever she looked at him, and he knew she had to have wondered why he was alone on a road trip with no destination, but not once had she probed him about it. In fact, it was Steve who was itching to ask her something.

“How did you know I’m a soldier?”

Jane didn’t answer immediately. She rolled the dice and moved her last plastic soldier two squares to the right. It was clear from the scowl on her face it wasn’t the number she had wanted. If she kept scoring mere twos and threes, Steve’s men would race ahead and rescue the princess.

He caught the dice she threw at him and waited for her to answer.

“The way you carry yourself,” she said simply. “It’s a very distinctive style. I’ve seen it before… on my brother.”

“Oh.” Steve didn’t know what to say. He had never actually paid attention to how he carried himself. Bucky had always joked that he walked like a man on a mission but there was no mission right now, in this new life. Nothing to look forward to.

Also, for some reason, the idea of Jane thinking of him as a tortured war vet, true as it may be, didn’t sit well with him.

“How did your brother die?” The words poured out of him like water, leaving him a bit stunned. She hadn’t asked him a single personal question and he was absolutely failing at showing her the same courtesy.

But he just really wanted to know if her brother had died in action or if he had passed away in the aftermath, depressed, lonely and plagued by the memories of his past, knowing in his heart that he’d never be the same again.

“Oh, Will is still alive,” Jane quipped, surprising Steve so much, his jaw dropped.

“You said he was a soldier,” he spluttered, trying to remember her exact words. “You used to play board games when he couldn’t sleep.”

“He _was_ a soldier,” Jane agreed. “He works at his wife’s travel agency now. In Amsterdam. So yeah, you can say we don’t get to play a lot of board games anymore.”

Steve could only stare at her, wondering how he had completely misunderstood her words. A slow grin, rather impish in nature, spread across Jane’s face as she took in his expression of disbelief.

“Sorry, that was totally my fault. Will hates it when I speak in past tense and let people believe he died a tragic death.” She paused, looking not at all sorry for misleading him. “But you have to admit, it’s a good way to connect with people.”

Just like that, she had caught him unawares again, as if standing half-naked on the road and making him play a game in the middle of the night wasn’t enough. For the second time that night, Steve felt laughter bubble up inside him, a feeling so rare that it actually scared him. Outside of what Jane had just told him, he simply couldn’t think of anything that had both disturbed and amused him at the same time.

“You’re mad,” came out, unbidden, from his lips, and Jane shrugged, unconcerned.

“I won’t deny it. Now play. It’s your turn. I hope you roll a one.”

Despite her impassive tone, Steve caught her biting back a pleased smile and shook his head. What had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments and kudos mean a lot to me. So, thank you for leaving them.


	5. Sun's Up

There was a sticker on Jane’s laptop that read: _You only live once_. It was big and shiny, and blended with the silver of the laptop. The words were glittering pink and stood out amongst the sea of black, blue and green stickers. Surrounded by _Make love, not war_ ; _God bless Johnny Cash_ ; and _Grow your own dope, plant a politician_ , it was the only sticker that caught and held Steve’s attention longer than he’d like to admit. He peered at it with distinct unease, feeling something coil in his stomach every time his eyes traced those words.

Jane, oblivious to his thoughts, continued poring over Google Maps like she had been doing for the past five minutes in a bid to help him plan some kind of route after Willowdale.

“If you’re planning to head further south,” she said, turning the laptop to show him the location of a town in Georgia, “I’d suggest stopping here for a while. My friends and I spent a night here once when we were road tripping to Miami. It’s a really small town but it’s beautiful, and Hal’s Diner serves the best breakfast in whole of Georgia.”

Steve listened with half a ear, absently watching a lock of brown hair fluttering against her cheek, while he debated going any further than Willowdale. A part of him fancied staying right where he was, see if he could enroll in Culver with Jane, take up an art course if there was one. But that line of thought was snubbed before it could even fully form in his head, before he could even register he might want a life like that. Another part simply wished to go back to New York and stop this drama. He was going to be alone and depressed wherever he went. Why not just go back home and resign himself to the hand life had dealt him? It wasn’t like going away would erase everything that had happened. It wasn’t like leaving the place associated with all his childhood memories would manage to dash his secret hopes of finding a way back to the past.

This was the future. Anything was possible. Wasn’t it? Someone somewhere had to be working on a time machine.

“… might be a good place to turn back if you want to avoid—Steve, are you listening?”

He blinked and focused on her when she tucked the errant lock he had been staring at behind her ear. “Yes,” he lied guiltily, not meeting her eyes.

Unconvinced, she snapped her laptop shut and scooted closer to him, bumping his knees. “Alright. What was I saying?” she asked testingly, and Steve sighed.

A wave of sorrow washed over him that he tried very hard not to show on his face. “I think,” he began heavily, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I think I’ll just go home. This isn’t helping.”

Her face fell and Steve immediately regretted his choice of phrasing. By ‘this’, he hadn’t meant his time with her. He meant this impromptu road trip which he had thoughtlessly undertaken as a means of distraction. Truth be told, the few hours he had spent with her were the most liberating he had felt since waking up. At one point during their conversation, his body had actually felt weightless and for the first time in a long time, the steady beating of his heart hadn’t upset him.

It worried him a little, how much he had enjoyed playing Royal Rescue with her, how much he had _wanted_ to keep playing, if only so he wouldn’t have to think about anything other than the kidnapped plastic princess they were meant to rescue. It was rare for his mind to be so blissfully free of the usual maelstrom of dark, miserable thoughts. And yet, it had been so for a while. Damn if the abrupt turn of mood didn’t terrify him!

Being with Jane felt like he was in a dream. It was bright and loud and colorful, and it made him feel all wrong and confused. It was a dangerous dream. He shouldn’t be having it. He shouldn’t be reveling in it. Steve wished she would simply understand all of that without him having to explain it to her.

A bird flew past the window, chirping merrily, and he suddenly realized it was dawn. The dorm room was bathed in a soft morning glow and the sound of birds was loud enough to make him wonder how he had missed it in the first place. He locked eyes with Jane.

“Sun’s up,” he said quietly. “I should go.”

“Oh,” Jane said, turning to look out of the window. Apparently, she had missed the change in light as well. She deflated a little as she turned back to him. “You could stay… if you want,” she offered hesitantly. “Lily won’t be here for another three weeks.”

Steve shook his head and repeated resolutely, “I should go.” For some inexplicable reason, his chest felt heavy and he couldn’t breathe.

Jane followed him to the window, where he hefted his bag over his shoulders like he used to do with his shield a lifetime ago.

“Thank you,” he told her, one hand on the window sill, ready to make a leap. “For…”

What was he really thanking her for? For letting him stay? For feeding him? For caring enough to sacrifice her sleep just to divert him from his nightmare? For so many other things he couldn’t name for fear of coming to a realization he wasn’t ready for?

“... everything,” he finished sincerely, looking her in the eye and willing her to understand it wasn’t just for the bed and the club sandwich.

She nodded silently, the expression on her face unreadable. Her hands fisted the shirt she was wearing, hugging it to her body like she had done once before, and she seemed to remember that it was _his_ shirt she was wearing.

“Oh, your shirt,” she exclaimed, her fingers flying to the buttons as if to start undoing them.

Steve stopped her with a soft ‘hey’. When she looked up, he murmured, “Keep it.”

Her hands fluttered down her sides and she looked lost for a moment. Steve felt like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words. So, he waited for her to gather her thoughts. And he watched her while he waited, unable to stop his eyes from raking over her face. She had near perfect features, soft and gentle save for her eyes which stood out big and sharp on her face. She would look good on canvas, he decided, absently tracing his eyes over the smooth curve of her cheek.

Jane finally broke the silence by letting out a soft, defeated sigh. “Will you be alright?” she asked, and Steve wondered if that was all she’d wanted to say.

Before he could stop himself, he brought a hand up to finger the lock of her hair that had sprung loose from its place again. Her eyes darted to his, wide and hopeful, searching for an answer he couldn’t give. He didn’t know if he’d be alright. If he’d _ever_ be alright. What he did know was that he needed to get out of this dorm room, and fast. His heart had started beating rather erratically and it sent all kinds of alarm signals to his brain.

“Okay, well…” Jane bit her lip and stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder and reaching up to kiss his cheek. But Steve jerked in surprise and she caught the corner of his mouth instead. “Oh! Um…”

He stared at her, his body tense, and she nervously stared back. It was unclear who initiated the contact, but their lips brushed and Steve felt the floor disappear right from under his feet. His hand dropped to her waist and he let his eyes fall shut for one agonizing second before he pulled away and literally jumped out of the window.

He heard her gasp as he did so, but he landed on his feet and didn’t look back, hurrying out of Culver campus as fast as he could, stopping to catch his breath only after he was safe in his truck, bag clutched tightly to his front and heart refusing to slow down.

After long minutes of just sitting there staring at nothing, Steve reached into his bag and fished out the cell phone Director Fury had handed him with his discharge papers a month ago. He thumbed at it cluelessly before finding the number he was looking for.

“Yes, this is Rogers. I’d like to see Peggy Carter’s file. Have it sent to my house by tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of Steve's flashback. Next chapter, a very exasperated Tony.


	6. Stark Truth

Tony looked thoughtful, and also kind of skeptical, when Steve finished narrating his story. There was a tiny furrow between his brows that did nothing to calm the swirling storm of anxiety in Steve’s stomach. The sounds of the party had blurred together in a toneless dull hum that barely reached his ears, and all the lights in the room seemed to converge on Jane, making it look like she was standing in a spotlight. His eyes were playing tricks on him, his nerves were on end, and Tony still hadn’t said a single word.

“I know,” Steve blurted out when the silence between them stretched uncomfortably. “I messed up. But how could I have known she was going to end up with Thor?”

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth. That day when he had hightailed out of Culver, he had thought he would never see her again. He had told himself he _didn’t_ want to see her again. That she was just some stranger he’d met on the road who had left a brief imprint on his mind. That’s all. But in one of nature’s endless ironies, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. The harder he tried to forget, the more constant she became. Her likeness had made it into his sketchbook several times. Her voice echoed in his head on occasion when he couldn’t sleep or when he found himself wallowing in self-pity.

_We might as well pass the time doing something fun if we can’t sleep._

_Oh, Will is still alive. He works at his wife’s travel agency._

She had even wormed her way into his dreams a few times, wrapped loosely in his old flannel shirt, holding out a hand as she asked him to come away with her.

“Where?” he would ask every time.

“To the future,” she would offer with bright, hopeful eyes.

And Steve would wonder what exactly it was that she wanted to show him, when everything he had ever wanted was in the past.

“Steve.” Tony’s voice pulled him back to the present. “What do you know about Jane Foster?”

Steve blinked and realized he was following Jane with his eyes, feeling his stomach sink every time she said something to Thor, making him smile. She was wearing a plum colored dress that fell to her knees and hugged her body in all the right places. Steve felt his mouth go dry.

“Not much,” he uttered, averting his gaze to focus on Tony. “Just that she was a student at Culver and is now, apparently, Thor’s girlfriend and a scientist.”

“Right. And what do you know about Thor’s girlfriend?”

Steve shot him an ugly look, deciding the billionaire was deliberately goading him. “Student at Culver. Scientist,” he repeated pointedly, nodding in the direction of the woman in question. “And standing right there!”

Tony sighed impatiently, waving away an important looking man who was on his way to greet them. “Jordan, hey, I’ll catch up with you. Go say hi to Pepper.” He turned back to Steve without waiting to see if the Jordan guy had left. “If you’re implying that Thor has never mentioned anything important to you about Jane Foster—”

“Well, we don’t sit around, gossiping like a couple of old codgers, Tony,” Steve interrupted defiantly. He knew that’s not what Tony meant, but the implication that he knew close to nothing about the personal life of the one person Steve spent most of his free time with was a bit difficult to swallow. From what little he knew about Thor’s girlfriend, (which did not include her last name, thank you very much) he had gathered she was a brilliant scientist under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s employ and had been the one to take Thor in when he had first landed on Earth. Steve regretted never attempting to find out more.

“No, that’s not what I…” Tony trailed away, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He took a breath and seemed to change tack. “Alright. Tell me one thing. When was Jane a student at Culver?”

That was one question Steve could answer with certainty. “About a year and a half ago. Why?”

“Well…”

Tony looked pointedly in the direction of Thor and Jane, then flicked his eyes to Steve, silently urging him to look as well. Steve did, watching dully as Jane snagged a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and downed it in one go. She leaned across Thor to say something to the woman on his other side who Steve, remarkably, hadn’t noticed till now. Not comprehending what exactly he was looking for, Steve turned back to Tony.

“What?” he asked, noting the glimmer of hope in the billionaire’s eyes melt into disbelief.

Tony raised both his arms in a gesture that screamed ‘are you freaking kidding me?’ His eyes widened with a meaningful look which Steve failed to understand, given half his attention was still fixed solely on Jane and her pretty smile. If he concentrated enough, he might be able to hear her laugh from across the room.

“You’re an idiot, Rogers!” Tony huffed in defeat, shooting Steve a look full of disgust before grabbing his shoulder. “Come on! Let’s go say hi.”

Alarmed, Steve immediately shrugged himself free. “No.”

“Why?”

Now it was Tony who was being an idiot. Why would Steve ever approach her in Thor’s presence and willingly invite awkwardness onto all three of them? Come to think of it, why would he ever approach her even in Thor’s absence, knowing she was fine and happy, probably having forgotten all about Steve and the night they spent together?

Granted, she had become a fond memory overtime, especially after the Chitauri invasion, when he had started to feel a little better about the 21st century, when he had recognized that the world, at its core, hadn’t changed that much at all. He had even found people who considered him their friend. Moving on was inevitable. It had come as a surprise but he had embraced it.

And it was around that time that he had secretly come to hope he’d run into Jane again, get a chance to start over and introduce her to who he really was, let himself be pulled into her light like he hadn’t been able to do the first time around, fight for the good dreams—for once!—rather than succumb to the nightmares.

But it was too late. She was with Thor now and Steve was just some stranger she met on the road.

“Steve.”

“No,” Steve said emphatically.

“Don’t be a baby,” Tony chided irritably.

“Leave it alone, Stark! I don’t want to meet her.”

To his surprise, Tony gripped his arm tight and pulled, his eyes flashing. “Do not make me summon my suit, Rogers! You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Ignoring Steve’s sputter of disbelief, he pulled again. “Come _on_.”

Steve followed him without further argument, perplexed at Tony’s vehemence and concerned about meeting Jane. Butterflies erupted in his stomach. “What do you mean?”

Tony threw him a smirk. “You’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me and Steve, y'all! Next chapter, truth will out.
> 
> In the meantime, anyone willing to wager a guess as to what Darcy's reaction is gonna be when she sees Steve?


	7. Steve and Darcy

Tony’s party was being held in a room the Hulk normally used for letting off steam. The tower’s state-of-the-art gym was no match for his sheer size and strength, therefore several supply closets, file rooms and unused offices had been cleared on the vacant 40th floor where a Hulk secure room was built, fully equipped with thick, sound proof walls, fight simulations fit for the strongest Avenger, and an advanced audio system in case the big guy was in the mood for some music.

Bruce rarely ever used it, but when he did, he came out looking a lot more at ease than he did going in.

The room was good for parties too, when Tony ended up inviting a lot of people and was unwilling to grant them clearance past the business floors.

It wasn’t that big a room that you’d get lost in if you weren’t careful, but it was big enough for Steve to feel like there was a whole chasm of nothingness between him and Jane, a dark abyss that separated his corner from hers, and the only thing keeping him from falling into it was Tony’s firm, grounding grip on his arm. With each step forward, Jane seemed farther and farther away until it felt like it would take a lifetime to reach her side.

Somewhere, it occurred to him that it _had_ taken him a lifetime to get to this point where he could look back and see no regrets. Maybe that’s what she symbolized for him, something to look forward to.

The thought made him walk faster, causing Tony to let go of his arm. The billionaire’s excitement was infectious, rolling off of him in waves until Steve himself was bubbling with it. He was still afraid Jane wouldn’t recognize him, or if she did, she’d be indifferent toward him, but that didn’t make him want to see her any less. He caught a hint of her voice as they neared and his heart skipped a beat.

“… not looking for anyone, I swear, just being alert.”

She was glancing over her shoulder with furtive eyes, a flute of champagne clutched tightly within her grasp. This close, Steve could see the beads of sweat on her neck, the restlessness in her fingers as they tapped endlessly against the glass in her hand, and the suspicious way she kept casting her eyes about as if searching for something. She didn’t see him stumble to a halt in front of her until Thor issued a greeting in his deep, God-like voice.

“Tony, Steve, I’ve missed you dearly, my friends,” he rumbled, grasping both their hands and setting in motion a chain of events that none of them could have predicted.

It started with Jane having a mini heart attack at the sound of Steve’s name. A loud, halting gasp, like the wind being knocked out of a body, tore out of her as she whipped around and caught sight of him standing before her. A little bit of her drink spilled on her hand as she jumped, and while a startled Thor managed to steady her in time, he wasn’t fast enough to save the flute of champagne she was holding from hurtling toward the floor.

To Steve’s eye, everything happened in slow motion. He saw the panic on Jane’s face as she made a wild grab for the falling object, her wide eyes leaving his to focus on its fall. Someone cursed and someone else cried out an unfamiliar name. _Darcy_. On instinct, Steve felt himself move forward and smoothly snatch the glass out of the air, saving it from certain doom.

“Here,” he murmured, holding it out to a stunned Jane.

She swallowed and took it. “Thanks.”

They held each other’s gazes and Steve knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she recognized him and was as affected by his presence as he was by hers.

After what felt like eternity, she averted her eyes with a shaky sigh and time sped up again. The sounds of the party, of people around them talking and laughing, trickled back into Steve’s consciousness and he remembered where he was. He couldn’t look away from Jane though and wished he could pull her away from the chaos to someplace secluded where they could interact without an audience.

“Are you alright, little one?” Thor asked her in concern at the same time the woman on his other side said, “Jesus, Darcy, what happened?”

“I’m fine. I’ll go clean up,” Jane mumbled, looking down at her champagne drenched hand. Her eyes flickered to Steve one last time before she hurried away on unsteady feet.

Steve stared uncomprehendingly after her, his feet frozen in place and mind reeling from what he had just witnessed. This was _not_ how he had imagined this meeting would go.

Tony was practically vibrating beside him, barely able to contain himself. “Whew, I hope she’s okay,” he remarked, sounding entirely too gleeful to be truly concerned for her or anybody else. He was enjoying this situation a little too much and Steve wanted to smack him over the head until he dropped that annoying smug smile from his annoying smug face.

Meanwhile, the woman who had called Jane _Darcy_ turned to Thor and worried, “I should go check on her. I don’t know what happened.”

“Of course, my love,” Thor replied. “But won’t you let me introduce you to the Captain and Tony Stark first? Everyone here has been most eager to make your acquaintance.”

“Yeah, okay.” She met Steve’s eyes with a smile, and something suddenly clicked into place in his brain.

He looked at her, _really looked_. At the intelligent curve of her mouth, at the way she stood molded to Thor’s side, at all the little details that told him she was a few years older than him and couldn’t have been a student at Culver just a year ago…

Tony had been right. Steve was an idiot.

“Let me guess,” he said, trying and failing to sound calm. “You’re Jane Foster.”

The real Jane Foster nodded, looking bemused by his eagerness. “And you’re Steve Rogers.”

“Yes, I am!” And without warning, Steve stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

She squeaked in surprise and braced her hands on his waist. “Wha—?”

“It’s great to see you, Dr. Foster,” Steve gushed, pulling away after a brief second. “Really, really great.”

Then he spun around and left in search of Darcy, leaving a baffled trio of people in his wake.

Tony cleared his throat. “Well, that was unexpected.”

\---

He found her outside in the empty corridor, leaning with her back against the wall, eyes closed and hand over her heart. It was eerily quiet out there, the insulated walls successfully masking the sounds of the party next door. Every breath he took rang louder than normal and Steve could clearly hear the change in Darcy’s breathing when he situated himself beside her, close enough to feel the heat of her body but not enough that their shoulders brushed.

She didn’t open her eyes, so he took a moment to just drink her in, feeling all of his tension from earlier melt away with one long, shuddering exhale. She hadn’t changed much but his memory had failed to do her justice, he realized. She was more beautiful than she ever was in his dreams. He would have to learn her all over again to draw her better next time.

“Take a picture,” she said suddenly, her lips quirking up as if she knew what he was doing. “It’ll last longer.”

She opened her eyes and rolled her head to look at him. Steve felt his breath hitch.

“I scared you back there,” he said apologetically, although it had stung when she had fled the party upon seeing him.

“You did,” she agreed, letting the hand on her chest drop to her side, where she proceeded to pick uncomfortably at her dress. “Thor said you were away on a mission. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

Steve nodded. He had returned early and agreed to make a token appearance at the party on Tony’s insistence. “But you were still looking for me.”

Jane—no, _Darcy_ opened her mouth and closed it, looking none too happy about being caught. When she pointedly refused to neither confirm nor deny his statement, Steve smothered a pleased smile. “So, you know who I am.”

She gave him a look. “Everyone knows who you are.”

“Not everyone.”

“Everyone at this party does.”

Steve grimaced and scuffed the toe of his shoe over the concrete, feeling a flush climb up his cheeks. “I guess the tabloid frequenters do,” he finally acceded, hating the way it sounded. He caught the amused look on her face and rolled his eyes. “How did you find out?”

“Switched on the news channel one day and saw you fighting aliens.” Her fingers kept plucking absently at her dress and Steve’s eyes dipped to study her posture. It was stiff and awkward, and her right foot tapped restlessly against the floor. She was throwing off nervous energy in waves. “If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t have been able to recognize you.” She met his eyes but didn’t hold them for long. “Felt a little stupid, to be honest.”

“Why?” Steve placed a steady hand over her fidgety one and watched her suck in a sharp breath. “Do I make you nervous?”

The corners of her mouth twitched up in assent. “A little.”

“Why?” he asked again, perplexed.

She didn’t respond immediately, choosing to direct her attention to their clasped hands instead, a faint smile playing over her lips. Steve looked down as well, marveling at the way her hand almost seemed to get lost in his large one. Her _entire being_ was slight compared to his. He could wrap himself around her and engulf her whole. She looked like she would fit perfectly into him.

Her hand twisted in his grasp and their fingers entwined. She looked up, eyes bright and cheeks lightly flushed. Steve couldn’t have looked away from her if he tried.

“You’re Captain America, Steve,” she explained softly. “Most would say you’re way, way out of my league.”

“That’s crazy and they’re stupid,” Steve disputed immediately, feeling super offended at the mere idea of what she was implying. “We’re very much in each other’s leagues.” If the Captain ruined this for him, he swore to God he would give everything up and become a naked mountain hermit. “I’m still me. You know me,” he insisted.

“I really don’t,” Darcy replied.

“Enough to have kissed me that day before I left,” Steve continued undeterred. It earned him a startled laugh from her. Apparently, she hadn’t expected him to bring up the kiss anytime soon.

Well, tough luck. Steve hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since he had followed her out of the party.

“That was different,” Darcy argued, but she was smiling. “You’re really hot.”

“So are you,” Steve shot back, irritated. Couldn’t she see how breathtaking she was?

“But then I realized I made Captain America play a silly game—”

“It wasn’t a silly game.”

“And I feared you wouldn’t remember me—”

Steve wanted to laugh; she couldn’t be further from the truth. “Darcy,” her real name rolled off his tongue with surprising ease, effectively shutting her up. He turned on his feet to face her, squeezed her fingers, and said seriously, “I couldn’t forget you if I tried.”

His declaration was met with silence as a dizzying array of emotions flashed across Darcy’s face. She went from skeptical to hopeful to awed to something else entirely that Steve couldn’t quite decipher. Her expression softened and she looked at him in a way that now made _him_ nervous.

“Okay?” he asked, just to make sure she understood.

“Okay,” she whispered, sounding giddy.

“Good.” He wasn’t responsible for the way his voice dropped; it was her, all her. Unable to hold himself back anymore, he stepped closer to her and murmured, “Any other doubts?”

Darcy promptly stopped breathing and forgot to reply, her blue eyes trained intently on him, waiting.

Steve blew out a breath. She wanted this. She wanted him. The knowledge was enough to send his heart racing. Feeling rather bolstered by this realization, he brought his free hand up to cup her neck, gently tracing his thumb along her jaw and under her chin until her eyelids grew heavy and she tilted her face up to meet his. Absently, he wondered if she still tasted like monsoon and wild berries. He supposed he was going to find out in a second. Her lips parted, inches away from his, when—

The door leading to the party burst open, blasting a thunderous wave of unwanted noise into the corridor. An unassuming Jane stepped out and jumped when she saw them. “Oh, jeez!” she gasped, becoming flustered as soon as her eyes took in the sight before her. “Oh, crap! I interrupted a moment. Shit, I’m so sorry!”

Startled, Darcy wrenched her hand from Steve’s and he took a small step away from her, feeling heat rise up his cheeks. “Dr. Foster?” he prompted, sounding pained.

“No, no, consider me gone,” Jane said with a hasty step back. “I just wanted to check on Darcy. Sorry, please continue.” She scurried back the way she came, leaving behind an awkward silence.

There was a beat in which Steve glared resentfully at the spot where Jane had stood. Then, Darcy giggled, slapping a hand to her face in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

Steve turned back to her with a sigh and dropped his forehead to her shoulder, mentally cursing his luck. There was only one thing to do, he decided, as his mind weighed several options. Either they stayed where they were and likely be interrupted again, or he whisked Darcy away to a private setting and continued where they left off.

For obvious reasons, the latter sounded more appealing. But she was sliding her hand up his arm, over his shoulder and into the hair at the base of his neck, scratching lightly, and it felt so amazing, so utterly electrifying, that Steve just didn’t want to move.

“Darcy,” he breathed, suppressing a shiver of pleasure. “How long are you here for?”

“Just the weekend,” she replied. And while he wanted her to stay longer, two days were more than enough. For now.

With great effort, he pushed away from her and stated, “We shouldn’t stand here. Will you come to my place with me?”

She hesitated, but only for a second. “Yes.”

\---

When Steve had moved into Stark Tower, he had assumed it’d only be for a short time. The location was convenient. S.H.I.E.L.D. offices were nearby, so were the other Avengers. Debriefing sessions lasted long and the paperwork they had to do was extremely thorough. By the end of the day, Steve was too tired to go anywhere else. The tower was being majorly revamped and renovated after the battle of New York, but Tony didn’t mind having a super soldier camped out on his couch, so Steve had decided to hang around until the shock of aliens had worn off and the city was well on its way to rebuilding.

Like him, Bruce too had moved in, setting up shop in one of Tony’s lab, and soon, Thor found his way back to Earth. It was comforting to be surrounded by people who knew what it felt like to be different.

Before he knew it, thoughts of going back to his old Brooklyn apartment bit the dust as Steve quickly became used to living in the tower. Tony, in his over-the-top generosity, presented him with an entire floor, to do with it as he pleased. And although his lavish new lifestyle filled with undeserved luxuries discomfited him in more ways than one, Steve appreciated the privacy his personal floor afforded him. No one but the Avengers, their Head of Security, and Pepper Potts had access to it.

Which is why the sight of an unfamiliar suitcase sitting suspiciously outside his door caught him unaware.

He glanced at Darcy, who was silently admiring the framed paintings hanging along the hallway, smiling every now and then when she recognized one. “Oh wow, that’s not a very good replica, is it?” She chuckled, pointing at fake Mona Lisa. “Look how wide her smirk is.”

Steve’s attention was on the suitcase. They came to a stop before it and he bent down to examine the shady item. He had never seen it before. It was brown in color, and looked and felt perfectly normal. Steve nudged it a bit, wondering if he should pick it up. He couldn’t hear anything ticking or rattling around inside.

Before he could take any drastic measures, like call security to vet the bag, Darcy let out a surprised exclamation.

“Hey, that’s mine!” She took the suitcase from his hands, staring at it in confusion. “How the hell did it get here?”

The moment she claimed it, Steve’s paranoia subsided and he knew whose foul handiwork this was. A thrill shot through him but he mostly felt embarrassed. “Tony,” he explained with a groan. “He knows about us and… well, he must have sent Happy to deliver it here.”

Darcy went red, the meaning behind Stark’s gesture not lost on her. Steve unlocked his door and waited for her to address it but all she said was, “Kind of an ass, isn’t he?” before following him inside—and really, the human heart shouldn’t be able to jump and flip like that. If it leaped any higher, it would lodge in his throat and choke him with anticipation.

“ _This_ is where you live?” Darcy whistled as they stepped into a large, sparsely furnished living room. Most of it was vacant but Steve preferred the sitting area anyway. It was cozier. He saw Darcy’s gaze jump from the T.V. to the plush leather couch, to the bookcase neatly stocked with his favorite magazines and paperbacks, and finally to a number of nearly dead potted plants sitting on his window sill.

At her amused look, Steve dragged a hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah,” he explained with little guilt. “Always forget to water them.”

Darcy chuckled. “I figured.”

“This way.” He felt a bit awkward leading her into his bedroom but there was only one bathroom and it was in there. He told her to use it if she wanted, but she beelined for the bed instead, dropping her suitcase to the floor and perching on the edge of his silk sheets to kick off her heels.

Her feet were pale, as if they hadn’t been getting any blood circulation. “God, that feels better,” she groaned, massaging them with both hands.

Steve watched her, trying not to feel out of place in his own home. He’d never had a woman in there before and Darcy seemed to fill the place in a way he hadn’t imagined possible. Her appearance was hardly intimidating. She was physically tiny but her presence all but surrounded and overpowered his, making it feel like they were in _her_ house, not his. It was at once both humbling and arousing.

Unable to decide whether he should join her on the bed or pull up a chair, Steve busied himself unbuttoning his suit jacket and shrugging it off. “I searched for you,” he said the first thing that popped into his head and Darcy looked up, curious.

“Huh?” She let her feet go and they dangled inches above the floor, still very pale.

“I Googled you,” Steve clarified. “Some time after I came back.”

“You Googled me?” she repeated, arching a brow. “What did you find?”

He shot her a dry look. “Some scientific papers by a Dr. Jane Foster who lives in New Mexico and definitely isn’t you.”

The beginnings of an impish grin bloomed on Darcy’s face. “Oops,” she said unapologetically. “If only you’d known S.H.I.E.L.D. has a file on us, you’d have found me sooner. Jane’s file is interlinked with mine and so is Thor’s. I was in New Mexico with her when Thor dropped down in a hurricane.”

Steve frowned as he rolled up his sleeves and slowly made his way to her. He hadn’t thought of scouring S.H.I.E.L.D.’s database because he hadn’t _known_ Thor’s Jane’s last name was Foster and that she’d lead him to Darcy. He wanted to argue that it was a very common name and absolutely no one in their right minds would have given a second thought to finding someone with the same name on the internet. Instead, what came out was—

“You could have told me.” He tried not to sound like he was complaining. “Before I left, you could have told me the truth.”

Darcy’s smile dimmed and she looked down. “You didn’t leave me much choice, did you?” she said, making him wince. “Literally jumping outta my window in your haste to get away from me.”

“Yeah. About that…” Steve began, but she shook her head.

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” he said quickly. “And I want to.” He swayed uncertainly on the balls of his feet before deciding to just screw it and take a seat beside her. “I was running away when I met you.”

“I know,” Darcy said with a soft look.

Steve nodded. He hadn’t exactly tried to hide his pain from her. “My life felt like a never-ending nightmare that I was constantly struggling to wake up from. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t breathe I built a wall around myself to keep everything out because it was too difficult to handle this new world together with the grief that came with acknowledging what had happened to me.”

“Oh, Steve.” He didn’t have to look at her to hear the sadness in her voice.

“Being with you,” he continued quickly, afraid he would ruin the moment if he stretched this any longer, “even if it was for one night, put a nice big crack in that wall. It was welcome but it also wasn’t. I was confused and scared. So, I did what I thought was best. I made a run for it.”

“Why?”

“I guess,” he swallowed hard, “I guess I felt like I was betraying my old life and everyone in it whom I loved. Like it’d be selfish of me to try and be happy, you know?”

Darcy didn’t respond. Steve knew she didn’t—couldn’t—understand. She never would. Because she hadn’t lived the same life he had. But when he looked up to meet her eyes, he saw himself reflected in them, bright and clear. For a moment, he was all she saw and Steve treasured being the center of her attention. He had stopped trying to make sense of why she meant so much to him and what it was about her that attracted him like a moth to flame. It wasn’t just the way she looked or the way they’d met. It was something deeper, something inexplicable and much more profound that had brought them together and then brought her to him again.

Fate, maybe.

Steve didn’t believe in soul mates but he’d be willing to make an exception just this once.

“Alright, enough moping,” Darcy said abruptly, and Steve pulled himself out of his hopelessly romantic thoughts to see her heaving her suitcase onto the bed. “I’ve something to show you.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Close your eyes,” she ordered.

He didn’t think to ask why and obediently closed his eyes. Darcy was rummaging for something in her bag and whatever she pulled out wasn’t anything hard or brittle. It wasn’t food because he couldn’t smell it. It wasn’t made with paper because the sound of it was different. It wasn’t a box full of knickknacks because he couldn’t hear rattling. If he had to guess, he’d say it was something soft… like a piece of clothing. The sound of it whispered through the air, easily captured by his enhanced hearing, and Steve’s heart sped up. Whatever it was, smelled like her. It had to be another dress. And by the sounds of it, she was changing. Right in front of him.

_Good, God_. He squeezed his eyelids tighter and imagined a hundred different outfits with a hundred different colors that she’d want to show him.

“Alright,” came her voice at last. “You can look.”

Steve opened his eyes slowly, not wanting to appear too eager. The first thing he noticed was Darcy standing before him with her arms spread wide and a big smile on her face. The second thing he noticed were bare legs. The third thing… well, shit.

“Ta-da!” Darcy exclaimed, proudly showing off a familiar flannel shirt, faded with wear. “I kept it.”

It was the same shirt Steve had left in her possession a year and a half ago, the same shirt she wore in his dreams, always managing to pull a rather visceral reaction out of him whenever he thought of her in it. The same shirt he had expected never to see again. Yet there it was, wrapped around her like a blanket, practically drowning her in its depths.

“This doesn’t mean you can have it back,” Darcy warned when he failed to react. His brain had pretty much short circuited the moment he had opened his eyes and laid them on her. “It’s mine now.”

“Is that right?” Steve murmured, sweeping his eyes over her body. The shirt looked well-worn. A couple of buttons over her belly were missing and the fabric was unraveling at the seams.

Something inside him jumped at the sight. Heat sparked in his gut, shooting up his spine like electricity, and Steve acted on impulse. He grabbed a fistful of her shirt and gave it a strong tug. Darcy gasped as she stumbled forward into him, her hands flying to his shoulders for support. She ended up between his knees, head bent over his, and there was no interruption this time as Steve sunk his fingers into her hair and surged up to claim her mouth.

It was a bold move, one that hadn’t afforded her any time to think, but Steve didn’t have to worry about that at all. Darcy responded straight away, parting her lips and sighing into the kiss like she had been waiting for him to do it forever. Her hands climbed up his shoulders to cradle his jaw and she leaned further into him, tipping his head back and stealing his breath away.

It was unlike any kiss he’d ever had. Soft yet intense, innocent yet hot, brief yet infinite. Steve found himself losing control with every press of her lips and yet he couldn’t help giving into that feeling. It was amazing and all-encompassing and it made his blood sing. He tightened his hand in her shirt and drew her further in, dragging a breathy moan from the back of her throat. The sound went straight to his core and rippled out in a full-body shudder.

“Wow,” Darcy panted when they broke apart moments later. “I’m sure glad I let Jane talk me into coming here tonight.”

Steve grudgingly relinquished his hold on her and combed his fingers through his hair, suddenly shy. “So am I.” He eyed his— _her_ —shirt and nodded to it. “You look beautiful in it.”

She laughed and hugged it to her body. “No, I don’t. You just like me in your clothes.”

He couldn’t argue with that. She did look beautiful though, even if she didn’t believe it.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her, because if he didn’t change the subject, he’d end up pulling her to him again. “We didn’t stay for dinner, did we?”

“We could go back,” Darcy suggested. “I can put my dress on real quick.”

Steve didn’t like that idea at all. Nobody was putting on any dresses. It was counter-productive to his plans. Not that his plans involved anything untoward. Just a lot of admiring. And kissing, if she allowed.

“I have food here,” he told her, and Darcy grinned knowingly.

“Okay.” She looked around his room as if seeing it for the first time. “Can we eat in here?”

Steve nodded. “Wherever you want. But first,” He patted the spot beside him and waited for her to sit down. “I want to show you something.”

“What is it?” She watched curiously as he bent down and pulled out a box of Monopoly from under the bed. “Oh no, Steve. I hate Monopoly.”

“Look inside.” He opened the box to reveal her favorite game.

Darcy gasped. It was an exact replica of Royal Rescue done in water colors. Steve hadn’t planned on showing it to her. But he wanted her to know he didn’t think of it as a silly game. It had saved him from a nightmare once after all.

“Where did you get this?” Darcy asked, staring down at the game board in surprise.

“I made it,” Steve told her nervously. “Natasha played it once and is now obsessed with it. We often stage rescue missions for the perpetually kidnapped princess.” He paused and watched her for her reaction. “Do you like it?”

“You painted this?” Darcy asked with mingled awe and confusion. “Why?”

Steve shrugged. “I couldn’t find it in the stores or online and it led me to assume it must be a family game.”

She nodded. “It is. My gran made it.” She plucked a playing piece from the box and examined it. “You remember the green thing we played on last time? It caught on something sharp and ripped right down the middle.”

“Oh.” Good thing he had painted a new game board, then. Now he knew what to give her when she left for New Mexico.

“Where did you get these playing pieces?”

“Oh, I nicked them from several different games in Clint’s stash,” Steve replied, eyes twinkling with mischief. “He hasn’t figured it out yet.”

A slow smile spread across Darcy’s face till she was literally beaming with joy. “I can’t believe you did this,” she gushed, sliding the Monopoly box to the side and wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

“I can’t believe you kept my shirt,” Steve returned, happily hugging her back.

“It’s _my_ shirt.”

“Right.”

She pulled away to smolder at him. “I’m gonna kiss you now.”

Feeling lighter than he had in months, Steve cleared his throat and adopted a stern expression. “And I’m going to allow that, just once, but only ‘cause you asked ni—”

Darcy laughed and tackled him down on the bed, pressing her lips to his in a sound kiss. He wound his arms around her and decided it was just as well that he was reborn in the 21st century. It wasn’t as bad as he had feared it’d be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, you can check out the photo manip I made for this fic [here](https://littleplebe.tumblr.com/post/187311376669/something-wonderful-part-7) on tumblr. It's one of my best and I'm rather proud of it.
> 
> These past few months haven't been easy. Not for me, not for y'all. It's nice to know that we have a small corner in this universe where we can go to find our happy. So... I wanna thank you for your comments and kudos. They keep me going.
> 
> Hope each and every one of you is doing well.


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